| Senegalia greggii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Senegalia |
| Species: | S. greggii
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| Binomial name | |
| Senegalia greggii (A.Gray) natural range
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| Varieties | |
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Senegalia greggii, formerly known as Acacia greggii, is a species of tree in the genus Senegalia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in Mexico. The population in Utah at 37°10' N is the northernmost naturally occurring Senegalia species anywhere in the world.[citation needed]
Common names include acacia bush, catclaw acacia, catclaw mesquite, Gregg's catclaw, paradise flower, wait-a-minute bush, and wait-a-bit tree; these names mostly come from the fact that the tree has numerous hooked prickles with the shape and size of a cat's claw which tend to hook onto passers-by; the hooked person must stop ("wait a minute") to remove the prickles carefully to avoid injury or shredded clothing. (The common name "cat's claw" is also used to refer to several other plant species, including Uncaria tomentosa, a woody vine found in the tropical jungles of South and Central America.) The specific epithet greggii refers to Josiah Gregg, a 19th-century author, explorer, and amateur naturalist of the American Southwest and northern Mexico.